1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to solar hot water heaters and more particularly pertains to a new and improved solar hot water heaer that will selectively expose a supply of water to the sun's rays in response to a sensed temperature and which will further insulate the water supply from heat loss during such periods of time that a temperature drop is being experienced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that the sun's energy can be harnessed through a variety of techniques and for many different purposes. In this respect, the use of the sun's energy to heat hot water is a developing art, and there is a continuing need for new and improved devices which both efficiently and reliably capture the energy of the sun. Typically, these devices have proven to be quite unwieldy and very expensive to install, as well as being very inefficient due to excessive heat loss experienced when a transfer of solar heat from a collector to a removed storage chamber is effected. In this regard, prior art solar hot water heating systems have not been capable of being easily installed proximate to or in existing building structures and have not been devised to cooperate as an auxiliary heating unit with the conventional water heating systems commonly found in building structures.
With respect to the particular structural arrangement of a typical solar hot water heating system, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,226, issued to Atkinson on Nov. 22, 1977, wherein there is disclosed a heat collector and storage chamber which utilizes a solar collector protected by a door positionable over the solar collector elements associated therewith. In this respect, the Atkinson device refers to the door as being electrically operated to open and close the same and further, it is noted therein that the door may have reflective surfaces and be positionable at a desired angle whereby the sun's rays may be reflected onto the solar collecting elements. However, while the concept disclosed in the Atkinson patent is particularly interesting, the means and manner of so positioning the door are not disclosed.
As such, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved solar hot water heating devices, such as the type disclosed in the patent to Atkinson, and in this regard, it would be particularly useful to have a solar hot water heating apparatus which would automatically expose a supply of water to be heated to the sun's rays when available and which would further protectively insulate the water supply in the event of a temperature drop, such as might occur during a sudden rainstorm, the sun being shaded by clouds, etc. In this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.